Looking for an inexpensive computer? Today may be your lucky day. The Series 3 Samsung Chromebook is being offered on Ebay for only $159.99. This Chromebook is still being offered from Google and Amazon for around $250, so this is a considerable discount on a decent computer.

If you need a refresher, the Series 3 Chromebook has an 11.6-inch display with 1366 x 768 resolution, a 1.7GHz Samsung Exynos 5 Dual processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of on-board storage, and also comes equipped with a microphone, stereo speaker and a built-in webcam. As for ports, you’ll get an HDMI, 3.5mm headphone jack, one USB 3.0, one USB 2.0 and a 3-in-1 (SD/SDHC/SDXC) card slot. The device is available in silver, and has a 4080mAh battery and lasts about seven hours on a single charge. This Chromebook is extremely small and lightweight, weighing only 2.43 pounds.

Speaking from experience, this isn’t the best computer on the market. It isn’t even the best Chromebook on the market. However, finding a new Chromebook for only $160 is a deal that you should probably consider. The processor is a bit slow, especially if you open more than a few tabs at a time. However, this could be perfect for your child’s first computer, or if you need something portable that won’t break the bank.

One thing to note: following the Ebay link below won’t show a price for the Chromebook. You need to sign in and add it to your shopping cart before a price will show up. So, if you’re interested, head to the link below to grab one for yourself.

It looks like Samsung could be gearing up to release a sequel to its Exynos 5 dual-powered Chromebook, at least if a new report from Business Korea proves correct.

Reportedly the next-gen Samsung Chromebook will be powered by the Exynos 5 Octa 5420, a CPU that features big.LITTLE technology and has four high-performance Cortex A15 1.8GHz cores alongside four low-power Cortex A7 1.3GHz cores. The device is also believed to have a 12-inch (or larger) display with a resolution of 2560×1600, 3GB RAM, 16-32GB storage, and a Mali-T628 GPU.

Like the first-gen model, the 2014 edition of the Samsung Chromebook will be priced around the $250 mark. What’s not as clear is when we will see the device officially unveiled. While the report mentions that industry insiders expect the laptop to debut at CES, Samsung has denied the possibility by stating they have no plans to unveil any laptops at CES. Either way, we imagine that such a device will likely debut sometime in the first few months of 2014 — though keep in mind that Samsung has yet to confirm that the handset even exists.

If the reported specs are true, the Samsung Chromebook sounds like a great solution for those looking for a low-cost laptop for (mostly) web-based applications — though here’s to hoping that Samsung opts for a higher-quality LCD display in similar move to the HP Chromebook 11.

For those in the market for a Chromebook, would you be interested in an ARM-powered next-gen Samsung Chromebook or would you rather stick to something powered by an Intel x86 CPU?

This week we take a look at the Samsung Chromebook, an affordable, yet stylish Chromebook which garnered mostly positive reviews and has been at the top of Amazon’s top sellers list for months. For $250 it looks like a steal, but how does it fair after months of constant use? How much does $250 really get you?

This article is about my experiences using the Samsung Chromebook. If you’re looking for an insight into the absolute best Chrome OS and a Chromebook can offer, check out Nate Swanner’s Chromebook Pixel project by clicking here.

There’s nothing in the Samsung Chromebook’s spec sheet that jumps out at you as amazing. For $250, you aren’t picking up a quad-core Intel i7 processor and 512GB SSD set up in RAID configuration, but then again, Chrome OS doesn’t need all of that power to perform smoothly.

Connectivity is also middling. Due to the relatively thin frame, there’s no ethernet port, but that’s the only notable omission on the laptop. The display is also nothing to write home about. Poor viewing angles and muted color reproduction are a by-product of cost cutting measures, but at least it’s of the matte variety, meaning it’s still perfectly viewable in direct sunlight or under a desk lamp.

Booting up for the first time

The first time I booted up the Samsung Chromebook I was instantly amazed. In less than 10 seconds I was welcomed with a setup window and a few clicks later and a verylong password type in and I was already up and running with all of my bookmarks and web apps synced.

This quick boot up time wasn’t a fluke either. The Samsung Chromebook has booted up in less than 10 seconds every time. Resume times are also quick, taking less than two seconds for me to re-enter my workspace after opening the lid.

The design is basically a copycat of the Macbook Air, which isn’t such a bad thing, because if you are going to copy the design of a product at least pick a well designed product. The Samsung Chromebook is nowhere near as svelte as the Macbook Air, but it is quite thin and a touch heavier than its 11-inch Macbook Air counterpart.

The matte silver paint might appear to be metal from afar, but as soon as you pick it up you’ll realise that this is not a unibody metal design, in fact it’s not even metal. However, the plastic used on the Samsung Chromebook isn’t the absolute garbage you’ll find on similarly priced Windows laptops, it’s actually quite nice.

The display lid does flex quite a lot, and the frame isn’t totally rigid at the edges, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as some of the Windows laptops I’ve owned. All in all, the Samsung Chromebook left me pleasantly surprised with my first use of it.

Chrome OS – Not quite the incomplete operating system that people say it is

If you’ve used the Chrome browser on your Windows PC or Mac, you’ll feel right at home here. It’s basically the same user experience except it’s on a whole UI level.

The design of the OS is quite nice and is a little similar to Windows 7. There’s a taskbar at the bottom (which you can’t move around, but can hide) which allows you to pin apps onto and it’s also where you’ll find the app drawer. On the right hand corner of the bar is a little notification panel with the time, audio level, connectivity and battery level.

Having already moved into Google’s ecosystem months ago, I felt right at home in Chrome OS. While being settled in Google’s ecosystem is probably the best method when using a Chromebook, it’s become easier for people in the Microsoft crowd to adopt Chromebooks, especially after the announcement of Office 365, Skydrive, Outlook etc. For those of you who use Apple’s ecosystem, you might want to hold onto your Macbook.

Chrome OS updates automatically and silently.

Chrome OS is far from perfect (more on that later), but it’s extremely stable, there’s no need for an antivirus program and it receives free updates every six weeks. What’s best about the updates is that they are done silently and not in the obnoxious way that Windows does it. In fact you can forget about ever having to worry about updating anything ever again on Chrome OS.

Begone flashing Java update notifier, Vamoose pop-up “removed external storage device” notifier! The most you’ll ever see in Chrome OS is a quick pop up notification for an email that just arrived. It’s all very simple and (for the most part) extremely elegant.

Day to day use

My typical day begins with a bang. After booting up my Samsung Chromebook, I’ll have easily opened ten tabs or more. Gmail, Google Plus and Google Drive are almost always and a few research tabs are mainstays on my tabs bar. I’m almost constantly listening to music on Spotify, and there’s usually a Youtube video playing in the not too distant future.

So how does the Samsung Chromebook hold up to the strain? Not too badly. Unlike many of the reviewers, I’d bought my Chromebook after Google rolled out the update which used physical memory when your RAM was filled up, so I didn’t suffer from the constant refresh of tabs that some reviewers complained about.

2 USB ports, a HDMI port and the charging port are all found at the back of the Samsung Chromebook.

Youtube playback has been problematic since the beginning and it’s yet to be resolved. When playing back 1080P videos, the Samsung Chromebook struggles, and don’t even think about moving to another tab.

There are a few things that can be done. First, I recommend that you pin the Youtube app to the taskbar and then change the opening settings to “open maximised”. This seems to lend a few more MBs of RAM to the Youtube tab and after dropping the video resolution and dropping my tabs count to about 4 or 5, the Chromebook can keep up and play Youtube videos in the background.

Overall, performance is decent. While it’s fairly snappy at under 8 tabs, once you hit 12 or more tabs, there’s a noticeable slowdown, and on more CPU intensive web pages, stutter comes into play. Chrome OS isn’t completely free from random shutdowns, however they are becoming increasingly rare as the updates roll by, and thanks to the quick boot up speeds and the “restore” function, nothing is ever truly lost and you’re back to where you were in less than 30 seconds.

The keyboard and trackpad are quite good, worlds ahead of almost every Windows laptop under $1000 and probably as good as some of the ones that cost more than that. The trackpad is one of those newer, button-less models and while it’s a tad sticky, it is accurate and reliable. Two-finger scrolling and three-finger swipe between tabs are the two trackpad gestures available, and they’re also accurate, but it would’ve been nice to see pinch to zoom functionality added.

Every single article I've ever written on Android Authority has been typed up on the Samsung Chromebook.

The keyboard is also above average. It’s comfortable and the island layout is spacious enough, but it is a tad shallow and takes a little time to get used to. It’s definitely an improvement over my last laptop, whose keys were so mushy I felt as if I was sinking into them with every stroke. Every single article I’ve ever written for Android Authority (including this one) has been typed up on the Samsung Chromebook, as well as countless assignments, speeches, essays, songs and short stories.

While not quite up to the level of the Macbook line-up or the Lenovo Thinkpad’s, the Samsung Chromebook offers a great keyboard and trackpad, and the only real qualm I have with the keyboard is that it’s not backlit (although at this price point you wouldn’t expect it to be).

Battery life is also excellent. Under just about the heaviest workload conceivable in Chrome OS, the Samsung Chromebook runs for a little over five hours. On less strenuous days, I can easily get 8 or 9 hours of usage time. The ARM processor in the Samsung Chromebook also allows it to be completely fanless (it can get a little warm, but never scalding hot).

It’s amazing just how silent this device is, especially coming from hulking Windows PCs with quad-core i7 processors. In fact it’s pretty much imperceivable until you get a Windows PC or Mac into the same room as this thing. Before, the noise of the fan blended in with the rest of the outside world, but after using this for a few days, you’ll definitely notice the fan cranking up on your Windows PC.

Can the Samsung Chromebook be used as a primary laptop or is it just a secondary device

It was surprisingly easy for me to leave Windows behind. I’ve been using the Samsung Chromebook as my primary laptop for almost 6 months now, and I haven’t looked back. I’d already been using Google Docs for document creating and almost every other activity that I did on a computer involved the internet, so for me it was easy. If you’re looking for a list of Chrome OS alternatives for popular Windows applications then here’s a short one:

Microsoft Office: Google Docs or Office 365

iTunes (Movies/TV shows): Google Play Movies, Netflix

iTunes (Music): Google Play Music, Spotify, Rdio

Photo editing software: Pixlr editor

Video editing: er… forget I ever mentioned that

While hardcore Excel users and people who work with Word documents with loads of formatting won’t be able to leave their PC’s behind, most regular users will be able to use Google Docs or Office 365 without issue.

For music, movies and TV shows, you’ve got a plethora of choices and if all you’re doing is light photo editing, then Pixlr will fit your needs well.

People who edit lots of videos, compile code, or play P.C. games, need not apply, because Chrome OS won’t be a viable option for them (at least as a primary device). But for the rest of us, Chrome OS might fit our needs perfectly.

An SD card slot and combined headphone/mic jack are the only ports on the sides of the device.

One other common concern for people, is the lack of storage. With only 16GB of storage space, the Samsung Chromebook resembles a mobile device more than other laptops, however it’s not much of a problem for me at least. When I went on a trip where there would be no internet, so I just put a few movies on a USB stick and just took it with me. It also comes with 100GB of free Google Drive cloud storage for two years, which is excellent.

How much do you actually do offline? Not as much as you'd think.

The biggest concern that people raise, is the common “it’s just a browser” statement. Therefore it becomes nothing, but a paperweight once you go outside your home. Let me ask you, not counting gaming, compiling code or video editing, how much do you do offline? That’s right, not much. Several people have given me that exact statement, and I’ve asked them the same question. The truth is that outside of document editing and creating (which can be done offline on Chrome OS as well), people don’t do much offline. Remember, those who are gaming, compiling code or video editing aren’t the target market for a device like this

The good

The Samsung Chromebook is nicely designed, despite being a copycat Macbook Air

It’s fairly thin, light and small, meaning it’s easy to tote around in a backpack

Chrome OS updates automatically and silently

The keyboard and trackpad are great

Battery life is excellent

For $250, the performance well exceeds Windows notebooks and netbooks in the same price bracket

The bad

Performance suffers once you open up 10 or more tabs

The display is subpar

Keyboard not backlit

Youtube playback still poor

Processor takes a long time to open extremely high-res photos from a DSLR

Speakers face downwards and become muffled on your lap (they are otherwise loud, but lack bass and lose clarity at high volumes)

The little things

The nubs (“feet”) on the underside of the device aren’t tall enough and the underside scratches easily

The paint on the Samsung Chromebook’s lid isn’t of the highest quality, and it tends to scratch easily

When maximised in their own “maximised tab” any buttons on the top right of a web page are covered (the account button in Youtube is a great example)

You have to lift the device up in order to place an SD card into the SD card slot.

The charger plug is tiny and difficult to put in, especially in the dark.

The hinge ruins an otherwise sleek design

Wrap up

For some people, the Samsung Chromebook isn’t a viable option as their primary computer. But for those who are deeply entrenched in Google’s ecosystem and don’t fall into the power users section, the switch is relatively easy, though not without sacrifice.

The Samsung Chromebook is sleek, lightweight, it has brilliant battery life, the keyboard and trackpad are excellent, and for $250 it’s easy to see why it has been at the top of Amazon’s top sellers list for so long.

Google's promise of a Chromebook still performing as well as it did when you first bought it has proven to be true in my use of the Samsung Chromebook.

Six months onwards, I am very pleased with the purchase of my Samsung Chromebook purchase, the build has proven to be decent and it still performs as well as it did when I first bought it, maybe even better (that’s a lot more than I can say for a lot of my Windows laptops). Sure there are a few quibbles here or there, the display is still subpar and Youtube playback issues still plague me, but for $250, it’s one of the best purchases I’ve ever made.

Have you got a question about the Samsung Chromebook? Drop it in the comments and I’ll try my best to answer it.

Are you planning on purchasing a Samsung Chromebook? Have you already picked it up (perhaps another Chromebook)?

The Chromebook has been discussed quite a bit lately. With leaked videos, Android mentioned in the code, and a website domain reserved, it looks like we’ll see something amazing at Google I/O this Spring. Even with all that speculation, is the Chromebook ever going to be a viable platform? Are you ever going to consider a Chromebook like you consider your current computer, a standalone platform?

A brief history of the Chromebook

As much as the Chromebook has been talked about and scrutinized, it’s actually pretty new. The first prototype, a Google CR-48, was available in December of 2010. The purpose was to have a platform which bypasses traditional OS and operates almost entirely in the cloud. There were no programs to download, or software to update. It was as if your Chrome browser took over your computer, and it took people by surprise.

The first commercially available Chromebooks were announced at Google I/O 2011. The two offerings, from Samsung and Acer, ranged from $300-$450. The Chromebook was meant as a slim, lightweight alternative to a normal notebook computer. With specs like a 1.6Ghz processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage, the Chromebook was fit for its main purpose, which was light web surfing.

The platform

The subtle brilliance of Chromebook is the fact that the browser is the platform. It isn’t a layer to Windows, or a boot-up action. when you open a Chromebook, you’re presented with a very stripped down experience. There aren’t any heavy background programs running, or time consuming security updates. Everything you need is available on the web, and icons simply link to a webpage rather than a program. It accomplishes quite a bit for what it is, and in our increasingly online world… Chrome OS is actually a bit ahead of its time.

What is the purpose?

To put it simply: simplicity. The Chromebook is meant to get you to where you want to go, which is online. Google has created a world inside of Chrome to do just about anything you need. While the Chromebook isn’t for everyone, it will suit a great number of people very well. Web apps have come a long way, and the Chrome Web Store has an app for just about anything you need.

The Chromebook is great for schools, as it gives kids a very accessible and familiar way to learn. Given the online nature of the Chromebook, it is much easier for an administrator to limit where the kids go online and what they do. Google makes the devices affordable for schools, limiting the financial impact. In fact, it helps with many financial issues schools face, meaning more resources go towards the kids.

Going Google

Many businesses are switching to Chrome OS and Chromebooks, or as Google likes to call it, “Going Google”. Is Chrome Os and the Chromebook the right option for your business? We’ve discussed that in depth recently, and while it does lack in certain areas, chances are your business will find everything needed and more. Taking a quick spin through the features and cost structure may give you reason to question your current system.

Why we like the Chromebook

For starters, it puts the “mobility” into computing. A Chromebook is so light and easy to transport, and it gives a nice alternative to lugging around a notebook computer. Sometimes you need a real computer, but not the headache of dragging one around with you. It boots quickly, and the battery life is amazing.

Security

Chrome OS is extremely secure, and each tab in Chrome is its own operation. Everything is segmented, meaning an error on one page doesn’t necessarily mean it will affect anything else. Very rarely does malware do more than make Chrome shut the page down, which is a nice feeling. Not having to concern yourself with security is a big weight off your shoulders, and probably puts a little cash in your pocket.

It’s Google!

If, like me, you are fully invested in Google and Chrome, a Chromebook is perfect for you. There is nothing other than all the services you’re used to enjoying, meaning you can skip the Windows messages and other OS nonsense and get straight to the good stuff. Many services you use in Chrome are fully integrated in the machine itself, meaning there is no more logging on to Chrome before you can check your calendar or Google+ messages. You jump right to it from the start screen.

It plays well with others

There is nothing better than when devices work well together, speaking to each other when needed. With a Chromebook, you work entirely in the Google ecosystem, which means everything you do is available across all platforms. Start a spreadsheet in Drive on your Chromebook, then tweak it while on the train to the doctors office. Start reading this article on your Nexus 7, then pick it up later on your Chromebook. When the services are available across platforms, it makes switching devices a lot easier and more convenient.

The price is right

The Chromebook is also priced right. After a few machines that were simply overpriced for what they were, the new breed of Chromebooks are coming down to earth. A $250 price tag is much easier to take than a $450 one, and it’s good that Google realized that when they did. Now that Chromebook competes directly with traditional computers in terms of pricing, we can expect much more adoption. Having them available in Best Buy stores is also a boon for the franchise.

What’s not to like?

There are a few drawbacks that tend to keep the average user away. While a lot of people will get the Chromebook to toy with it and use it to screw around with, most consumers simply don’t want or need to do that. We are considering the Chromebook as a standalone unit and platform, not something adjunct to your current setup.

Services

Google Drive just doesn’t have enough bells and whistles to get people away from Microsoft Office. I happen to love it, but if we’re talking about power users, it just won’t work for them. Some very simple things are just not available with Drive, and it keeps people from switching. The same goes for the lack of Skype support. I love Google Hangouts, but more people use Skype, so it would be nice to see that available. Try watching a Netflix video, and you’ll be redirected to a big ‘ol “sorry” screen.

No toys

It may seem like a minor issue, though for many it’s a deal breaker. The lack of support for peripherals such as mice and keyboards is an annoyance some can’t handle. If we are really expected to make a Chromebook our daily-use computer, this will have to change. A mouse may technically work, but is often jerky or lacks complete functionality.

Interface

The interface is just plain different. Everything happens in the cloud, and people aren’t accustomed to that. It isn’t much of a switch, but taking people away from their comfort zone when it comes to computing is a tall order. While many users access the web for quite a bit, they don’t consider using it for everything a viable first option right now.

No guts, no glory

If you stack up what you can do with a “regular” computer to the Chromebook, it’s just no contest. The Chromebook is terribly under-powered even struggling to handle multiple Chrome tabs. When watching a 720p video on YouTube, it would be nice if frames didn’t drop, or worse, turn into a picture slideshow when another tab is opened. With no expansion available on the better Samsung model, you’re stuck with the 2GB DDR3 RAM, which simply doesn’t cut it. If we’re expected to drop our current OS for Chrome, the hardware needs to step up dramatically. This is the real Achilles heel, and one that is widely pointed to as the reason Chromebooks haven’t gained more ground.

Squinting hurts

In a world of small screens getting larger, we simply aren’t happy with one on our computer. We want a computer to have a 15-inch screen, not 12-inch or worse. The screen size definitely helps to keep the device slim and light, but it hampers usability. Again, if Chromebook is going to really take over, it has to improve on hardware, and the screen size is a major drawback.

Offline

While you can do some things offline, the fact is that a Chromebook needs internet access to be a viable daily-use machine. You can create a Drive document offline, but to take full advantage of all Drive can offer you’ll need to be online. This isn’t a problem for most, as we use our computers at home, but when mobile this can present an issue. More offline usability would be a great addition to Chrome OS.

The future?

We’ve heard a lot lately about the Chromebook Pixel, and all it is rumored to be. If it is what it seems to be, we are in for a real treat. Any computer has its drawbacks, Chromebooks included, but the Pixel potential is just too sweet for those of us who have been waiting for Chromebooks to round into form. The rumors about the Pixel seem to be aimed at solving the issues we have with the Chromebook, which would be a timely fix for Google. Chrome OS will always be exactly what it is, but a machine that can handle what we throw at it will be a real step forward for Chromebook.

A Chromebook like the Pixel would also mark the first time people actually consider the Chromebook to be a standalone computing solution, rather than a secondary device. The reason we don’t get away from our Windows machines is because they can handle tasks, and multi task really well. I don’t consider Chrome OS to be the issue with adaptation. Chrome is a breath of fresh air in the OS landscape, hampered by the hardware it runs on.

With more manufacturers jumping aboard the Chromebook express, it seems this train is ready to go full steam ahead. Since inception, the two-horse race of Samsung and Acer has tethered the Chromebook market. Forget the low-end, high-end makeup of the Chromebook landscape with these two… we can’t get hold of one! More variety also means more availability, and if consumers can get one, they will.

Conclusion

What does Chromebook need to really be a viable contender? Guts. We need better hardware, plain and simple. While the Chromebook is currently good as a secondary device, we don’t need two devices. We are all looking for Chromebook to take over, to give us reason to jettison all this Windows weight.

Once Chromebook steps up the hardware specs we need, Google will see a wave of adopters. The software is exactly where it needs to be, but Chrome is notorious for eating memory up during use, making the hardware on a Chromebook much more susceptible to failure. Once the hardware catches up with Chrome OS, Google will have a real contender on their hands. Right now, the Chromebook is just a pretender.

We have a breadth of low cost Android tablets available to us, but let’s be honest in that some of them are just worthless. Android, being open source, is sometimes a curse. We obviously get some wonderful things from it, but we also get some stuff that makes us scratch our heads. More than most other consumers, we as Android fans need to be educated about what’s out there. We love our variety, but we hate being ripped off.

Let’s first define what “cheap” or “low cost” means. Every person has their own definition, so what i’m going to do is let the market decide. The Nexus lineup seems to have set the bar in terms of cost, so we’ll use that as our guideline. As the market settles into the seven-inch and ten-inch form factors, we have a better idea of which tablets are worth the cash.

Don’t buy a tablet…

Just hear me out on this one. The Chromebook may actually be a great option for some people. I know, I know…we’re talking Android tablets here, but tablets are still a foreign concept to some. Some people can’t really grasp life without a keyboard, and apps just confuse them. It really is a newer way of thinking for some, this world of apps and mobility. If you know someone like that, the Chromebook may just be a great option. While it isn’t Android, it has the same basic function in so much that you can get it in WiFi or 3G, and it runs many of the same services. Sure, you don’t have them in app form, but Chrome apps are coming along nicely.

If gaming is your thing, the Chromebook is definitely not for you. Playing games on a keyboard is just not a good idea, and games for Chrome are fairly lacking. Then again, if you’re the type who can’t live without a keyboard, maybe those types of games will appeal to you. A Chromebook may be a bit underpowered for what it is, but for those people who need something portable and easy to use, it may be a better option than a tablet. Just do yourself a favor and consider it when you are thinking about your next portable computing purchase.

Oh, that Kindle Fire

It really is a force, isn’t it? The Amazon Kindle lineup has really captured people, and for good reason. It’s cheap, easy to use, and doesn’t let you stray too far from home. It has many of the same pros and cons as a Chromebook, just in tablet form. The Kindle also started the low cost tablet era, so in many ways, we have Amazon to thank for all this good stuff we have.

Now, for many consumers a Kindle is just not an option. While it’s technically Android, it’s not Android as we know and love it. It’s a severely altered version meant to do one thing, and one thing only: access Amazon services. You can get many Amazon services with other tablets, but with a Kindle you are fenced in to Amazon’s world of apps and services. While this isn’t necessarily bad, it’s not as much variety as many people would like. Many people consider Google’s variety of services to be what makes Android so wonderful, so a lack of access to those services will just not satiate them.

If you’re the type of person who enjoys the Amazon bubble, then by all means get the Kindle. They are nice devices, and really pack in some great hardware. The new Kindle Fire 4G LTE with AT&T service may be a really good option for those who need quick access on the go. The ability to access 250MB of data monthly could be a real lifesaver for some, and at $499 with an optional annual payment of just $50 for the data, it’s not a bad financial decision.

The Fire HD is a direct competitor to the Nexus 7, at $199 with a seven-inch screen. Each tablet has their own specs which are meant to do different things. The Kindle Fire HD goes with a 1.2 GHz dual core processor, and tucks in dual-band, dual-antenna WiFi for faster downloads. It’s not lip service, either. It really screams when downloading. With two other options, the Fire and Fire HD 8.9”, the Amazon Kindle family has a tablet at just about every price point you could want, and all have very respectable specs. At $159 and $299 respectively, you won’t feel bad for purchasing either. For me, the best part is that you can go into just about any Best Buy store and they have an Amazon kiosk which has every Kindle available for a trial run.

The best screen available

I’ll be honest, I never really got the “eReader” thing. They came out about the same time as tablets, and I just didn’t see the benefit to having a dedicated eReader when you could have a tablet that does so much more. Either way, the NOOK from Barnes & Noble entered the market at what many consider the wrong time. A good little eReader that was released at the genesis of the tablet revolution, Barnes & Noble’s NOOK had to switch gears quickly to adapt. They have done so admirably, but is it a good enough showing?

The NOOK does much of what the Amazon Kindle Fire family of tablets does. It is a great piece of hardware hampered by the restrictive nature of it’s ecosystem. If your goal is to read books…like, a LOT of books…then the NOOK may be for you. With access to Barnes & Noble’s gigantic library of books, the NOOK is an avid readers dream.

Let’s respect that building an ecosystem is not an easy task. Barnes & Noble sunk a lot of cash into transitioning to the future, which is a large part of why they’re the only real bookstore around anymore. Their investment into the NOOK lineup is admirable. Make no mistake, though, this is a fairly dedicated eReader. Sure, you have games and a few apps here and there, but much like Amazon, the real draw is the direct access to what Barnes & Noble can sell you. They have an impressive lineup of books and movies available for purchase, and the ability to visit any Barnes & Noble to get a hands-on or help with your NOOK is a really neat feature.

In terms of specs, the NOOK is a sleeper hit. Fairly competitively priced with the rest of the market, it packs some great features. The expandable storage is a great option, and the screen is the best on any Android tablet, hands down. The screen is what baffles me about the NOOK. With such a marvelous screen, it’s a shame their ecosystem is so restrictive. I would love to be able to get a few awesome games on Play Store for that screen, but I can’t. At 1440×900 with a 243 PPI, it’s too good for simply reading, but that is it’s focus.

At a bit higher cost than it’s competition, the NOOK HD is a tad confusing to me. Amazing specs slowed by a really restrictive ecosystem is a conundrum I just can’t come to terms with.

The Nexus

When the Nexus 7 was announced and specs began leaking out, the Android world turned on it’s ear. Could it be true? Were we about to have a seven-inch tablet with those specs at that price? In the Nexus 7, you have the fulcrum of the tablet world. It brought balance to the force.

The Nexus 7 was a bit like the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album; the world simply wasn’t ready for it. Amazing specs, world-beating price, pure Android experience. Geeks gasped, gamers giggled. Tegra 3 chipset, a great screen, lightweight and functional. What more could we want? No matter what discussion you have about tablets, someone will always say “just get a Nexus”. At $199 for the seven-inch model, you’d be hard pressed to ignore it… or would you?

The Nexus line gives us so much, but rarely. The one Achilles’ heel of the entire Nexus lineup is the one thing we simply can’t do without; the tablet itself. We can’t seem to readily get our hands on one. Always “sold out”, always “coming soon”, always “ships in 6-7 weeks” it seems. You also can’t actually get a hands-on like just about every other tablet on the market. Such a powerhouse in it’s sector with no actual retail presence. A simple trip to Best Buy will get you a hands-on with just about every tablet out there, save for the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10. The entire Nexus line has been mired in supply and demand issues, and it’s wearing on Android fans.

On the bright side, it’s easily the best tablet available for the price. A stellar screen, great chipset, and a wide open ecosystem. Nexus tablets offer a very clean Android experience, with no bloatware or restrictions. You have access to the Play Store, the most robust of all ecosystems.

Sure, Amazon and Barnes & Noble have their strengths, but you can get the NOOK app as well as many Amazon apps from the Play Store. There is no membership fee as there is with Amazon Prime, and with the NOOK app it is easily comparable to that respective device.

What the Nexus 7 did for the seven-inch form factor, the Nexus 10 did for the ten-inch model — wonderful specs at a reasonable price. You can’t go wrong with either. While other tablets have one or two strong suits that offset some real letdowns, the Nexus family never disappoint. They may not blow you out of the water in any regard, but there will definitely not let you down.

The rest of the bunch

We’ve concentrated on the major players to the low cost tablet market, but what about all the other tablets? There is a huge variety out there, and a lot of them are very respectable tablets. They all utilize the Play Store, which is an across-the-board bonus. They also have bloatware, which for an Android enthusiast is a bit annoying. With any other tablet, you’ll wait for updates to come from the manufacturer. So, while all your Nexus toting buddies are enjoying Jelly Bean or Key Lime Pie (yeah, i’m gonna go ahead and run with that), you could very well be stuck in Ice Cream Sandwich land. Not that it’s bad to be on ICS, it’s just not as cool as being up-to-date.

Samsung has some very decent offerings in the Galaxy lineup, as well as tablets that confuse. First, the Galaxy Tab 2 is a very solid performer and available via just about any mobile provider if a 3G tablet is your flavor. They are a very solid all-around performers, but simply don’t hold up to the current crop of tablets. The Galaxy Tab 2 has seen better days.

Where the Galaxy Tab 2 leaves off, the Galaxy Note picks up. Now, the Galaxy Note series is responsible for blurring the lines between tablet and phone. The original Note (and Note 2), a 5.5-inch “what is it?” device, has thrown the industry a curve ball. In a nutshell, it’s a really good tablet… that can make phone calls. The question is, do we want that? Is that too big a device to carry around?

The newer Galaxy Note 10.1 is positioned as an all-around workhorse, much like it’s little brother. With some really nice specs like a quad-core processor and expandable memory, it packs a punch. Is it better than the Google Nexus 10, which is $100 less? If you were to lay eyes on the Nexus 10’s amazing 2560×1600 screen, you would probably say no.

Acer also has a very nice tablet lineup with it’s Iconia family of products. Where the Iconia usually succeeds is it’s expandable memory and USB slots, making it a bit more than just a tablet. Plug in a wireless mouse or keyboard, and you’ve got yourself a little makeshift computer. The processors on the Iconia lineup are fairly slow, and the screens never impress, positioning them low on the totem pole of tablets. If you are in need of a tablet that can handle peripherals, and is quite a bit more affordable than other tablets in the ten-inch class, then Acer is a brand you should consider. News of an entry level Iconia seven-inch tablet currently have the world on notice, but it may never make it’s way stateside.

ASUS has alway done a great job with tablets, most notably with the Nexus 7. Prior to that, they were in a two-horse race with Acer, blowing them away with the Transformer Pad lineup. The Transformer line is their only Android offering, and all three models are available in the ten-inch variant. If you’re looking for a seven-inch offering from ASUS, you’ll look no further than the Nexus 7 which is their only foray into the seven-inch class. Much like Samsung, ASUS tablets always make a strong showing and are worth consideration.

Conclusion

The tablet market is bottlenecked. So many tablets that are similar, and at similar price points. If you want a seven-inch tablet, you will be hard pressed to find a good one at less than $200 or so. For a ten-inch tablet, the Nexus 10 with it’s $400 price tag may be the middle of the road pricing for it’s class, but the tablet is not. You can get a less expensive ten-inch tablet like the Acer Iconia A200, although it may disappoint with it’s performance.

It’s also worth noting that your needs are what should drive your purchase. All the tablets noted today have very similar specs, but some have their strengths. For instance, if you have kids, an amazon Kindle Fire may be just what you need. It has a very interesting feature that allows you to be comfortable with your child’s browsing and shopping activities. Maybe you don’t want to take risks with relying on WiFi. If that sounds like you, then maybe a Samsung Galaxy Tab or Note available via any major mobile service provider is for you.

Then again, if you’re just looking for a good tablet at a good price, you almost can’t miss. Each tablet manufacturer likes to put their own apps and services on their products, so if you have a favorite brand that works for you, by all means feel free to keep it consistent. If you’re just in the market for an awesome tablet that will not let you down, you’ve probably heard it before…and you’re going to hear it again. Get a Nexus.

We knew that Google and Samsung got a winner in their hands when we saw the $249 price tag on the latest Chromebook. The browser-based laptop has now sold out less than a day after it was put up for pre-order on Google Play.

While waiting for the postman to deliver the new Chromebook to your door, we suggest reading the following information on how to score some goodies for the notebook. Those who own previous versions of the Chromebook can also make use of the offer – if they haven’t already done so.

Your Samsung Chromebook comes with a free 100GB Google Drive cloud storage. To redeem the offer, all you have to do is get online and log in to your Chrome device, and visit the redemption page. You’ll soon be able to enjoy the free storage for the next two years. Aside from the 2012 Chromebook, the offer also applies to Series 5 550 and Series 3.

If you like to take your Chromebook to the sky, make sure you take advantage of the free in-air Internet passes from Gogo, all 12 of them. This offer, however, only applies to owners of the Chromebook Series 5 550. Whenever you’re taking a domestic flight where Gogo service is available, simply turn on WiFi and connect to the “Gogoinflight” WiFi network. Just follow the instruction on the screen to start browsing.

You can find more information on how to redeem the offers by clicking on the source.

Samsung introduced the latest generation Chromebook just a few days back. This is the ARM-based model, or more than likely — the one people know as the one that is selling for $249. Of course, given the price, the Chromebook is more than tempting. But low price aside, we realize that Chrome OS is not going to work for everyone. Me personally, I am still rocking a Cr-48 with Chrome OS and loving it.

I will say that I had been tempted to pull the plug on this latest model, however I haven’t fully convinced myself that it was a necessary purchase. And while this latest bit has not taken me to that place, it is making the Chromebook a bit harder to resist. You see, while I use OS X on a daily basis, I love Ubuntu. Yes, you guessed it, Ubuntu has been hacked onto the latest generation Samsung Chromebook.

That being said though, this is not for the faint of heart. And hacked is probably an accurate description at this point in time. Ubuntu was installed by Olof Johansson, a Googler, who recently spent some time playing during a “Hack your Chromebook” night. The process is detailed rather nicely over on Google+ and involves an SD card with Ubuntu and more than a bit of knowledge and comfort with Linux and using the command line.

I can say that even if I decide to move forward with a purchase, I will not be taking this route with Ubuntu. Nonetheless, Johansson did offer quite a detailed post with some directions and even noted that he hopes some others “carry the flag on getting this going nice and smoothly from here.”

Just a few days ago we saw Samsung’s brand new Chromebook ultra-affordable models, the $249 Wi-Fi version and the $329 3G model. At that time we didn’t have any actual release dates for either model, but it looks like we now have good news for Chrome OS enthusiasts.

The $249 Samsung Chromebook can be pre-ordered via Google Play right now, SlashGear reports. Once ordered, the laptop should ship in 3-5 business days. As for the 3G version, well, it’s not available to order yet from Google Play, so you’ll just have to wait some more to get it.

But Google Play is not your only option, especially if you want to play with the new Chrome OS toy today.

According to one of our tipsters, at least one Best Buy store in Carmel, Indiana, is offering the new Wi-Fi Chromebook to interested customers right now. He was able to test the new Chromebook while a Google representative was demoing it to a Best Buy employee. But, again, only the Wi-Fi version is apparently available. As for the 3G version of the laptop, that Google rep said that it will be available to order only online for now.

Going to Best Buy‘s online store, you’ll be able to pre-order the new Samsung Chromebook Wi-Fi (which will ship in 6-10 business days), while the 3G version is unavailable. In-store pickup is listed as “coming soon,” so better check with your local Best Buy shop if you desperately want one today. You might get lucky too!

When the first Samsung Chromebook was released, the exorbitant cost of the simplified notebook was one of the factors that kept it from gaining traction in the market. The launch of the 2012 Chromebook removes that issue, as it now comes with a more affordable $249 price tag. Meanwhile, a 3G variant of the laptop will reportedly sell for $329.99 with a two-year contract.

The new price point and design – it’s lighter and more attractive than ever – means that the browser-based laptop won’t have any problem finding fans across the globe, but it seems Google isn’t ready yet to take it on a world tour. The new Chromebook will be offered only in the U.S. and UK, where interested customers can already preorder it online.

One region that won’t see the 2012 Chromebook anytime soon – if ever — is Asia. According to Cnet, the search engine giant has confirmed that it’s currently not interested in bringing the Chrome OS laptop to this part of the world.

This means Asian folks will miss out on the 11.6-inch display laptop with 1.7GHz Exynos 5 dual processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB onboard storage, 3-in-1 card reader, 4,800mAh battery and Chrome OS. Now that is uses an ARM-based processor, it also opens the door for tinkerers to brew Android OS for the notebook, which makes it an even more enticing machine.

Given the popularity of netbooks in Asia, even when it’s dying elsewhere, it’s mindboggling why Google and Samsung don’t try to push the Chromebook as a worthy alternative for the once ubiquitous device. Do you think Google should release the new Chromebook in Asian countries and other emerging markets? Will you buy one if they keep the price the same?

But what about those Chrome OS fans that want to use the device while on the go? The good news is that Samsung has build a 3G-enabled version of the 11.6-inch laptop that will sell for $329.99.

Unfortunately there’s some bad news to go with that too. The 3G version will be tied to Verizon’s 3G network for two years, and traffic is limited to 100MB per month. That’s not going to be enough for a product that basically runs an OS based on an Internet browser.

When it comes to specs and features, the 3G model will pack the same internal components as its Wi-Fi-only brother. As a refresher, the tablet will offer a 11.6-inch display with 1366 x 768 resolution, 1.7GHz Exynos 5 Dual processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of memory, Wi-Fi, USB 3.0, USB 2.0, HDMI, 3-in-1 card reader, VGA camera, 4,800mAh battery and Chrome OS under the hood.